In this blog the co-Chairs Kevin Farquharson and Steve Beecroft we will be updating you on all things smart card, relating to local authority implementations and of course seeking your input and comment too. So…….why not help shape the future of smart card projects across the sector and contribute with your comments and share your experiences? Your input and feedback is critical to the ongoing success of the Forum.

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Andrew Lansley has announced £4B funding ring fenced to improve the nation's health working through Local Authorities and new health body.

Our health is one of the key themes of the next SCNF event where we will be show-casing a range of scheme which reward and incentive behaviour change. The event will feature the Barking & Dagenham scheme which tackles childhood obesity and teenage sexual health. We have also invited representatives from NHS and will have the first report on the Southampton initiative sponsored by DWP to encourage older citizens to become more active.

Thursday, 18 November 2010

We are holding our next event on 19th Jan, because we believe it is the right time to discuss how rewards, incentives and loyalty schemes can encourage residents to participate and support their local community.

Climate, economic, health and social pressures are expected to have an increasing impact on our lives and provision of services. Local Authorities are trying to deliver the same or better services with less resource.

As Lord Nat Wei recently stated, "it is how we support citizens in taking control of their lives" (and local environment).

At this event, you will discover how other authorities are increasing recycling rates while saving on landfill costs, learn about schemes to encourage healthy eating & postive activity, hear about sustainable shemes to support local businesses and find out about the success of timebanking to encourage participation in the local community.

This unique event brings together case studies and discussion of the principal aspects of our world which we would like to see improved - environment, health, community and social wealth.

We look forward to meeting you at the event on 19th Jan 2011. Places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Monday, 8 November 2010

Norman Baker, Under Secretary of State for Transport has recently re-inforced his expectation that one smart card should be used to travel seamlessly anywhere in the country, possibly including bikes and car clubs.

While this is already possible for holders of a concessionary transport smart card, how will it be realised for those of us who have to pay for each journey on public transport?

On one hand TfL has firmly committed to introduce support for contactless debit and credit cards to be used, making it much easier for occasional visitors to travel. Also by 2012, you should be able to travel through or into London with an ITSO ticket. Elsewhere regional schemes are thinking about various methods of pre-paid travel and "stored travel rights", but are they compatible for seamless travel - does an Oxford pound buy a journey in Leicester? What do you need to make the journey experience better and public transport more accessible? Is the hassle of loading your card just moving from the station to a kiosk or corner shop?

It explore these challenges and the consequences of enabling pre-paid EMV cards for use on public transport, SCNF is holding a workshop on 24th Nov in conjunction with Global Pre-paid Exchange. If you have thoughts, questions or would like to participate, please contact us on chair@scnf.org.uk

Monday, 4 October 2010

If you had registered for this event, you should have been contacted directly.

We are re-schedule the SCNF event to Jan 2011 when we expect the uncertainty over the funding of public services will be reduced and the potential links to the Big Society agenda will be clearer. We have an excellent line up of speakers and want to ensure we have a useful debate on the use of smart card technology in health, environment and community incentive schemes. We will also make some of the case studies available on line before the event.

We will still be holding an informal meeting at 10am for those already committed to visiting London. If you plan to join us, please can you reply to events@scnf.org.uk and we will send you revised arrangements.

A number of members trekked up to Cambridge for the annual RFID Europe event. While the event has a strong technical angle, it is the place to find out about market trends and how organisations are using innovative technology. I would like to thank IDTechEx for welcoming SCNF and members to the event.

During the conference sessions, there was focus on RFID technology in retail, a presentation by contactless payment provider sQuid Card, some interesting case studies in the use of NFC (contactless enabled mobile phones), Multi-function Wayfinding from Guide Dogs for the Blind, Cubic on transportation smart ticketing and use of RFID in Cambridge central library.

The use of RFID continues to grow across the world in every sector from transport and goods to healthcare and animal tagging. The cost of devices continue to fall in real terms as well as getting smaller and lighter. This makes RFID and related smart card technology a major enabler of process improvement, increasing customer satisfaction and reducing costs.

We are considering running a Public Sector stream again next year, so members can see the bigger picture of the effective use of identification technology. We will try and obtain some presentations from this year to publish on the website.

Monday, 27 September 2010

We are delighted to be holding the next SCNF meeting on 7th Oct at Westminster University. The event will feature leading UK case studies on reward, incentive and loyalty schemes. We will be discuss the link with the big society agenda as well as discussing the potential to improve health outcomes and community participation.

The event will feature the following case studies:

Derbyshire Gold Card - Enabling participation in the community, eg, Students vote on £1 million of investments.Spice - Agency Time Credits enable public services to deliver improved outcomes with fewer resources.Cheshire Charisma Card - Now in it’s 7th year the scheme continues to promote the use of local businesses, access to discounted parking and free events.Mid-Suffolk Key Card Scheme - The Mid Suffolk Key offers discounts at over 50 outlets across the district.Barking & Dagenham - Street Base Connect encourages young people to lead healthier, more active lives. Windsor & Maidenhead - green recycling initiative has helped the borough reach 37% recycling. 75% of eligible green waste customers have activated their RecycleBank accounts.

The case studies will be followed by debates about health and incentive schemes.

Saturday, 31 July 2010

The next SCNF event will be on 7th October in central London. 10am to 4pm.

We are currently planning an exciting event which will show case a range of schemes which demonstrate how to implement, reward, incentive and loyalty programmes and how they can be linked to resident and transport card schemes.

Confirmed case studies include Spice incentive scheme for community based programmes, Barking and Dagenham reward scheme for young people, mid-Suffolk Key card scheme and Derbyshire Gold Card. We have also invited speakers on health incentive schemes, re-cycling initiatives and local business loyalty programmes. We look forward to stimulating debate and discussion about ideas and opportunities across the UK.

With the recent Government announcements on the Big Society agenda, we anticipate a growing need and interest for reward and incentive schemes to energise local initiatives. We are talking to the Big Society Network about this event and expect this to be one of the major themes. We will also be discussing how to implement sustainable schemes in the current economic climate.

The event is free for SCNF members to attend and there will be an exhibition area from our sponsors. Places will be limited, so if you wish to reserve a place, please send an email to events@scnf.org.uk - can you indicate any particular application you would like to find out more about.

Sunday, 20 June 2010

Once again SCNF secured free places for our members at Pre-Paid 2010. This 2 day conference covers all the bases on payment and SCNF has helped shape the public sector stream which was much improved this year. This event is now an essential fixture for anyone considering or implementing mobile, internet or contactless payment in the public sector. The highlights were numerous and included:

- SCNF requirement for pre-paid round table – see notes to be posted on website- Bracknell Forest – still extending and enhancing its scheme after 8 years- Croydon explaining how pre-payment for school meals has saved £750k already- Westminster accepting card and telephone payment to save over £7m pa in costs- Round table – steps to overcome the barriers and implement pre-paid in public sector

- Mastercard being used for payment on Liverpool buses- sQuid service underpinning cashless catering and now ITSO travel pre-payment- Update on Kent County scheme for making payments in personalised care- Rollout of contactless Visa payment and Visa programmes (white label & close loop)- LASSeO identifying the barriers to progress- Mick Davies appealing for a payment service provider to step forward- TfL news on acceptance of EMV by 2012 and first screening of new video- Steve Beecroft exploring smart in football clubs which revealed there is a business case- Industry experts discussing the future of mobile, NFC and internet payment models- Pending e-money regulatory changes – may impact school meals and transport

This is the only UK (and possibly European) event where you learn about the latest case studies and can hear directly from Visa, Mastercard, E-Money Association, card issuers, banks, TfL, alternative payment solutions, consultants, lawyers and HM Treasury.

I hope we can contribute some success stories to an even more successful event next June. Look out for SCNF offer to members next year. If you want sight ofg outputs from this year's event, go to SCNF site or email events@scnf.org.uk.

Thursday, 20 May 2010

You might be aware of an emerging problem affecting issuers and acceptors of Mifare Classic 1K and 4K smart cards (and emulations of the same).The Smart Card Networking Forum, SCNF, are keen to get a snapshot of the initial reaction from public sector organisations and suppliers.

This will help us understand the state of readiness for change so we can advise and inform our communities on best practice and the pragmatic adoption of any necessary changes.

Please could you spare a few minutes of your time to complete our survey. To participate please click the link below or copy it into your web browser. This survey will be closed at midnight on 11th June 2010 and we value your early response.

Tuesday, 4 May 2010

We need to draw urgently to your attention an emerging problem affecting issuers and acceptors of Mifare Classic 1K and 4K smart cards (and emulations of the same).

NXP who licenses a number of card manufacturers and new smart media providers has stated that the available number of Unique IDs for cards will run out by mid 2011. The Unique ID is written to the card chip at time of manufacture. Various options have been identified to ensure continuity of supply, however SCNF members are advised to consider the implications with their suppliers and service providers and determine how best to mitigate the impact in their schemes.

The problem is likely to affect card issuing systems, control methods (eg hotlisting) and smart card applications which are reliant on reading the Unique ID. The problem is very likely to affect some widely adopted applications such as access control and cashless catering which are generally over-reliant on this manufacturer generated ID. Many applications will not be affected at all, however regression testing is a sound pre-caution.

The Core Group of the SCNF is discussing the implications and will work with LASSeO to help disseminate information to members, provide general guidance and possibly make recommendations. Members should check the SCNF website and look out for further updates. We would also like your help to encourage more organisations to join the forum in order to keep advised and share experience.

Saturday, 1 May 2010

SCNF members enjoyed another successful event in Birmingham on 21st April and can look forward to continuing our exciting programme of events throughout 2010. The event was notable for a large proportion from Midlands authorities and organsations. We also elected a new Core Group to steer the Forum through the next year.

The Smart Card Networking Forum CRM Integration Event & Midlands Workshop was well attended and the feedback has been good. The presentations from this event will be available in the members’ area of www.scnf.org.uk shortly.

Some members attended the CI Spring Conference on 29th April in London. There were some excellent discussions around transport cards, european NFC trials and retail applications. Bracknell Forest and Hillingdon were both up for a Public Sector award and were just pipped by a Finnish school scheme using Nokia NFC phones.

Watch this space and the website for news about changes to Mifare Classic next year and SCNF at Pre-Paid 2010 on June 15th.

Monday, 19 April 2010

The SCNF heads to central Birmingham on Wednesday for a 2 part event. In the morning, three case studies will be presented setting out how CRM systems can be used to enable resident card schemes. We will be hearing from SAP and the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics in Kingston.

The afternoon will see a workshop of Midlands authorities on the potential applications of resident card schemes. There will be plenty of time to network, speak to sponsors and see the exhibition area.

In March, DWP signed up two authorities to trial applications which encourage older people to participate and use local authority services. Event delegates will be the first to hear from one of the selected authorities about the scope and expectations for their trial.

Owing to some ash cloud stranded delegates, there are a couple of places left for late registration. Email events@scnf.org.uk.

Monday, 22 March 2010

Many SCNF members joined in the DWP event at the Brit Oval on 3rd March, which was attended by around 100 delegates. The focus of the event was to share good practice and obtain feedback from delegates about the information and support required.

The event was opened by Hugh Pullinger from DWP explaining the focus on services for older people and an ageing society. Hugh set out the challenges of delivering and adapting services for a growing population of pensioners (250k will be over 100 by 2050!). DWP wants to encourage people to prepare more effectively for later life, to increase participation in local activities and to reduce the number of people becoming isolated.

Hugh was followed by Nicky Kaye from Bracknell and SCNF describing the range of services enabled by the E+ card which is also available to pensioners on their concessionary transport card. Kevin Farquharson, on behalf of Capital Ambition, described the recent work on the London Card which is intended to make it easier for all residents to access services and is planned to incorporate the Freedom Pass which is in the process of being re-issued.

The final case study was presented by Geoff Pickford from Derbyshire who described the Gold Card applications which they have linked to over 60 concessionary transport cards. The Gold Card extends use to libraries, local business discounts and promotion of welfare and benefits.

Presentations have been requested from contributors to be posted in the members area and we are awaiting feedback from DWP on the table discussions to identify delegates' key issues and needs. DWP is also expected to announce shortly the locations for application trials they will be funding later this year.

This was one of the most successful events we have been involved in. Many of our sponsors had stands which delegates were able to visit during the breaks and ask more detailed questions.

Saturday, 20 March 2010

The next Smart Card Networking Forum event is in Central Birmingham at the BMI on 21st April. See the website and calendar for details as they are announced.

SCNF members are invited to join their peers to learn how smart cards can be used in a multi-application resident card scheme or look in detail at how other authorities are using their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems to issue and manage their resident card scheme. In the afternoon there will be a workshop for authorities in the Midlands and additional time to network and speak to sponsors.

Come along and find out how different CRM systems including Microsoft Dynamics are being used to improve the delivery of services and managing the customer relationship.

Sunday, 10 January 2010

The London Councils funded a feasibility study in Autumn 2009. The summary report is now available and published on the London Councils website. This report and the business model may be of interest to other authorities.

In December nearly a dozen authorities expressed an interest in the DWP invitation to support trial(s) of smart card applications. All the response were forwarded to DWP with a brief summary of the applicants. DWP is now following up with each during January.

The SCNF was delighted to see the number and range of responses which reflects the growing interest in applications of smart cards beyond transport. It will be excellent to see a number of these proposals move forward including the one(s) selected by DWP for funding.

SCNF will be following developments closely and the event on the 3rd March will provide insight into the possibilities and existing experience in other schemes.

To be the first to receive new information, make sure you have signed up to the SCNF.